


Alan Moore is going to kill me...

by Fuguestate



Series: The Watchmen Kinkmeme Metaverse [1]
Category: Watchmen - All Media Types
Genre: Crack, Fix-It, Homage, M/M, Mangling science in the name of comedy, Multiverse Shenanigans, Must have sense of humor this tall to ride, Parody, Watchmen Kink Meme, definitely crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-05
Updated: 2012-12-05
Packaged: 2017-11-20 10:13:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/584244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fuguestate/pseuds/Fuguestate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which two vigilantes preparing to meet their doom in Antarctica stumble upon evidence of life in other universes.  Really odd, disturbingly <i>kinky</i> evidence.</p><p>Originally pure crack, this became a love letter of sorts to the <a href="http://spam-monster.livejournal.com/4913.html">Watchmen Kinkmeme</a> on LiveJournal.  The stories and prompts referenced can all be found in its <a href="http://spam-monster.livejournal.com/813.html">first wave</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A Tachyon is any hypothetical particle that travels faster than light. Tachyonic fields have appeared theoretically in a variety of contexts, such as the Bosonic string theory and special relativity. According to the contemporary and widely accepted understanding of the concept of a particle, tachyon particles are too unstable to be treated as actually _existing_. This leads, as one might expect, to tachyons being a rather troublesome phenomenon overall. 

Not that _they_ seem to mind - thanks to their inherent unpredictability, they can cause all sorts of minor chaos: static interference, electromagnetic fluctuations, infinitesimal temporal shifts. Some have speculated they can even create micro-rifts in the fabric of reality itself, although the number and concentration of tachyons required to do any _real_ damage (however theoretical) is nearly unheard-of.

-

Somewhere slightly off-center of one magnetic pole of a nondescript blue planet, a nearly unheard-of number of highly concentrated tachyons were happily percolating their way through a small, quaint bit of technology, finding little imperfections here and there in their containment and cheerfully slipping through to spin their way into new and interesting places...

-

"Hate this. All day on river bed. Drowned corpses more useful. You said we could proceed."

"These computer searches I've been running _are_ procedure. When it's dark again, we'll go up. This is-- Oh no, not now, Archie!"

Nite Owl's gauntleted hand slapped down on the Owlship's control panel. A burst of static skittered across the monitor, distorting the data crawling along it.

"Hrnh. Even computer thinks this is useless."

"Would you--!" Nite Owl bit down hard on the retort that tried to escape, resolutely turning back to open a hatch to the computer's circuitry while the image on the monitor rippled and contorted.

Rorschach plunked down into the copilot chair, folding his arms and glowering out at the debris forest on the river's underbelly. _Waste of time._ He glanced at his partner, who was typing commands at breakneck speed and muttering under his breath at the computer. Fuming, he turned away once more. _Cowering down here in sludge and pollution, conjuring names on screens, learning nothing..._ His fists clenched, making his gloves creak ominously. _Give me smallest finger on man's hand. I'll produce--_

 

**" _Sex_ pollen?!"**

.


	2. Chapter 2

Rorschach froze at the seemingly random (and _highly_ inappropriate) outburst. Very slowly, he turned to look at Nite Owl, who was staring open-mouthed at the monitor before him. Unbeknownst to Rorschach, the patterns on his mask chose that particular moment to echo his partner's expression almost perfectly as their eyes met.

"... Daniel?"

"Uhhm..." Nite Owl managed to close his mouth, his expression seemingly guilty even behind the cover of his goggles. He tried and failed to form words. As Rorschach watched in wary puzzlement, his gaze was slowly but inexorably drawn back to his computer.

"What is it?" The smaller man shifted to see what had affected Nite Owl so badly, catching a brief glimpse of a largely white screen with rather tiny text. All he managed to read were a number of seemingly random terms in larger print ("cable/deadpool" sounded vaguely threatening) before Nite Owl scrambled up out of his chair to face him, shielding the monitor from further view. 

"Ah - um, Rorschach..." A placating hand was raised, "I have... _no_ idea what Archie has just found, but it's..." _not my fault_ , he wanted to say, even as he fought the impulse to keep scrolling through what he'd found. "I had the computer running searches based on keywords, you know, and since we're trying to track down the mask-killer I included _us_ in the search terms, and..." He knew he was babbling, but he just couldn't stop; it was his only chance at survival now. "You saw the computer go all wonky, and then when it came back it found... _something_. I don't know what it is." His head shook slowly back and forth.

Whatever this was, Rorschach wanted to know what could leave this man at such a loss. "Show me." 

His friend moved aside with the demeanor of one walking to the electric chair.

Rorschach watched him, then turned his attention to the cause of his friend's consternation. What met his eyes was a combination of words that his brain initially refused to parse, it was so unbelievably perverse. He tried scrolling farther to another paragraph - another assault on his cognition. He did not just see the words "Nite Owl" and "orgasms". Did _not_.

Angrily he scrolled up to the beginning, determined to know the source of this filthy attack on Nite Owl's honor. The page's title hit him like a slap in the face: _"But be honest. You were thinking about gay porn already, weren't you?"_

"What." 

The word was spoken quietly - almost conversationally, by Rorschach's standards. But Nite Owl could hear the promise of unspeakable and protracted horrors in that single growled syllable.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Author's note: The title referenced in this chapter was the actual title of the Kinkmeme, once upon a time. Ah, the old days...)


	3. Chapter 3

_"Mothman/Dollar Bill Bondage!"_  
 _"Can we please get some more freakin' threesomes?"_  
 _"Let's all fuck with Ozy"_

It was unbelievable. Entry after entry, page after page. Nite Owl's eyes flickered briefly over a sentence or two here and there before horrified shame made him look elsewhere. 

He had resumed his seat before the computer; Rorschach had only withstood a few minutes of scrolling before his hands clenched hard enough on the console to threaten the instruments and he pushed off to pace in the background like an angry tiger. It was almost a relief to not be sharing the view with him anymore. The tension had been rolling off him in waves, disrupting Nite Owl's reluctant attempts at concentration. His investigator's instincts had finally kicked in to override his initial stupefaction, and he was now tracing back to the beginning of this... this... _whatever_ it was. 

_Wait - what??_ That couldn't be right. Why were these entries post-dated over twenty years from now? He shook his head. Must have been some security hack, to avoid detection. Reading the top of the page again, he could still only understand about eight out of every ten words. Crossovers, threads... the words were used strangely in spite of their seeming familiarity. And what the hell was a "meme", anyway...? Taking a deep breath and wishing he had something stronger to drink in Archie than coffee, he began reading in earnest.

The first page alone had him veering from puzzlement to curiosity to... _well_... to out-and-out horror. Only his partner's agitated presence behind him kept him from vocalizing his reactions for fear of adding to Rorschach's anger - Archie was only so durable, after all. Already adept at speed-reading, he pushed that skill's limits trying to gain as much information as he could before his partner...

"Well? Found the source of this filth yet?"

...damn.

Having burned off his initial shock, Rorschach was now ready for Round Two. Nite Owl tried not to flinch as he heard his friend's gloved hands clenching on the back of the pilot's seat to look over his shoulder. He did what he could to maintain his composure, deliberately _not_ trying to hide the words on the screen or fidget like a teenager caught with a dirty magazine. He was _Nite Owl_ , for God's sake.

"Not yet." He turned to look up at his partner (faintly proud that he'd managed not to stammer). "I'm not sure, but this might be connected to your mask-killer after all." 

Amorphous, shifting black patterns tilted down to look at him.

Nite Owl gestured vaguely at the monitor. "It's just. They seem to. _Know_ things. About me, at least. Hell, about where I _live_ , and I don't have guests over! Although," he shifted uncomfortably. "this actually seems to be more about... _you_... than me." He watched the shapes in his partner's face roil at that. "Maybe--" he paused, hating the idea even as he knew its necessity, "Maybe we should _both_ skim through this, to see if we can corroborate just how much they really know."

" _Hurrrrrrrmm._ Correct, of course. Unpleasant, but necessary. Attacks on reputations as bad as attacks on selves." 

 

* * *

 

"Good lord, this is reading like a... a short order menu! 'Bonus points for crossdressing, aphrodisiacs, general intoxication, or _threesomes_ '??? "

"...rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..."

 

* * * 

"'Hallelujah'... Ponderosa? What's this link..."

_"!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

" _Whoa!_ Whoa-ho, oh... Oh my-- Oh, that's just--!"

" **Hurm.** "

 

* * *

 

"Daniel."

"Hm?"

" _Not_ ticklish."

 

* * *

 

"Uh. Rorschach? You okay, man?"

"..."

"That's not... Is that... true, what this says happened to you?"

"..."

"Oh. Tell me they're dead now."

"Yes."

"Good."

 

* * *

 

"Xnnt."

"Are you laughing at me?"

"...Kk."

"Okay, you're right, it's funny. But owls don't eat _beans_."

"Would have caught mouse for you."

"...thanks."

* * *

 

"What's an 'OT3'?"

"I have _no_ idea. What the-- _Genderswap_?!!"

 

* * *

"They keep wanting us to get _hurt_."

"Had noticed. Rather twisted."

"Is that the only way they think we'd come near each other?"

"..."

"..."

"Ohhkay! Next page..."

 

* * *

"Oh, my... _God_."

"Enk."

"--what are you writing?"

"...Evidence. Theories. Wait."

"What?"

"Scrolling too fast. Haven't finished."

"Um."

 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I confess, Ponderosa's art was not on the Kinkmeme, but I couldn't resist.)


	4. Chapter 4

_~ 5 hours later ~_

Eighteen pages. Just over half of what was there, and they both - almost simultaneously - decided they had to stop. They were only one page away from the spot that had begun this whole trip down the rabbit hole, but Nite Owl, for one, needed a moment to just _breathe_. 

They stood at opposite sides of the Owlship, not quite with their backs to each other and not quite fidgeting. The ship felt too small and yet too big to Nite Owl, who was floundering to fill the thick silence with something that wouldn't embarrass them both - not that they hadn't already had their fill of that particular emotion. They now knew more - lord, how much more! - about each other than either could possibly have prepared for. 

Rorschach had actually held up quite well, considering some of what they'd both seen. In fact, the times he'd nearly lost it were actually when they happened upon something about _Nite Owl_ rather than himself. He shuddered briefly as he remembered Rorschach's reaction to the "pegging" prompt and its answer... Oh, sure, he had that picture of Twilight Lady back in his workshop, but _that_ \--!

Then there were some of his own reactions, the intensity of which surprised him. He found himself blushing furiously at the "Motherhen!Dan" label - and as much as it utterly creeped him out that someone was writing about the Owl's Nest with such accuracy, he had to confess that they weren't exactly _wrong_ in their assessments. Some of the Rorschach/Comedian prompts he'd seen had had him seeing red, and it took everything he had at one point to keep from putting his fist through the screen. And he really couldn't put a name to the tangled mishmash of emotions the phrase "that ginger hobo" brought forth.

And how... _how_ did these people know the exact way he phonetically spelled Rorschach's non-verbalizations in his head?

After only one false start, they'd managed to stay away from anything that didn't have to do with one or the other of them. To do otherwise was to invite madness, they both agreed. All told, they found that approximately twenty-five percent of what they'd read actually contained accurate data (Rather shocking, considering just what some of that data _was_ ). The rest was either speculative fantasy or just... well. Some of it, though... some of it seemed to take certain events in their lives - events that had never happened - for granted. The thought of the post-dating in the entries tickled the back of Nite Owl's mind a bit unpleasantly as he thought of it.

He sighed, looking back to the monitor's deceptively innocuous glow. The clock was still ticking, and that data wasn't going to read itself, even if he did have the computer saving everything it could to disk. He looked over to his partner, who he discovered had been watching him. They both dropped eye contact almost immediately, and Nite Owl tried to cover his awkwardness by striding back to the computer and settling into his chair once more. "It's almost finished downloading. We can head up soon."

"Good." The voice came from right behind him, and he hoped Rorschach hadn't seen him jump. Resolutely he clicked the link for Page Nineteen of their visit to utter madness.

 

* * *

"You know... this is just weird."

"Really? What part?"

Rorschach earned a grimace from Nite Owl for his sarcasm. "All right, I mean -- yes, this is all _really_ weird, and some of it's just plain sick, but... " He searched for the right words. "Is it just me, or does this seem like they're... _playing_?"

"Libel not a game, Daniel."

"No, no, I know that, but-- Look, how else do you explain the... well, the _cute_ ones?"

"... Compromise dignity. Invite ridicule and disrespect."

"From whom? Who knows about this besides us? These would have been plastered across every tabloid there is if anyone out there knew about it!"

"Hurm. Point."

"So what is it, then? And why do the dates on them really give me the creeps?"

"Don't know. But wading through it less agreeable by the minute. Work to do. Was dark hours ago."

A sigh. "You're right. I didn't realize there'd be a whole _library's_ worth of information here - who would have believed something could max out a 56k connection - but Archie's nearly done saving it all. I just don't want to move in case we're in some sort of reception hot-spot that let us find it to begin with."

"Fine. Then we do things _my_ way."

Their truce thus established, they returned their attention to the monitor.

 

* * *

 _"Let's all fuck with Ozy"_ , the header shouted at them once again with its perversely cheerful abandon. Nite Owl nearly skimmed over it, but Rorschach spotted their names and stopped him.

"...'code to launch the squid'?" They both leaned forward at the odd words. Somehow this didn't seem to be just another odd kink - even though they both remembered the "Tentacle Porn" prompt with a shudder.

"Hrnn. Karnak. Saw that in another post with Veidt's name."

"The one-- the one that said Jon killed you... but didn't because instead of killing you he listened to Laurie, who didn't go with me but stayed... wait, no, they went to Jupiter or someth-- Aw, hell, my brain's too mixed up from all of this." Nite Owl briefly clutched his head in his hands.

"Died in snow. Remember that. Another post said _you_ died in snow, instead of me. Details repeating."

"You're right." He considered a moment, then turned toward another console and began typing. "I've got a crazy idea."

"Basis for comparison?" 

"Very funny." A few more keystrokes sounded and then he turned back to his partner. "I just added the words "Karnak" and "Antarctica" to the laundry list of search terms, just to see what happens." He leaned back, musing aloud. "Karnak. And snow. What does Adrian's Antarctic retreat have to do with anything...? " He shook his head. "Adrian's always been so obsessed with Egyptian things. Rameses II built a gigantic hall at Karnak, a monument. 'Rameses' was the Egyptian name for Ozymandias. _'Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'_ "

"Always did have an inflated ego."

"But why are these things pointing to Adr--" The second computer _beep_ ed, calling forth a new stream of information that hit Nite Owl like a punch to the gut. 

"Oh shit."

 

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

"What?" Rorschach was peering over his shoulder, trying to see.

"The Comedian mentioned an island and some plot against Jon. My computers had already suggested Jon could have been set up, possibly by the company all his supposed 'victims' worked for. Moloch, for one, worked for a company called Dimensional Developments. I was thinking, maybe his place was bugged when Blake visited?"

Rorschach nodded, thoughtful. "Would explain Blake's murder and how they knew about my investigations. Framed me to get me out of the way as well."

"Right. Well, the trick was finding the next step from Dimensional Developments. And look--" He pointed to a set of results. "Karnak is who they _work_ for. Rorschach..." Nite Owl's head shook in futile denial, "Adrian's _behind_ all this."

Rorschach pushed away from the computer, practically thrumming with barely-suppressed energy now that they had a target. "Been down here long enough. If Veidt is next step, advise we find him, _now_.

"You're right," Nite Owl practically dove for the controls, "though God only knows what we're going to do when we find him."

"Subdue him first, if possible. May not get second chance. Ask questions later."

The Owlship rose with ponderous grace from its bed of sediment and refuse. Clouds of silt whirled up about them, giving the disorienting illusion of stormclouds before they broke the surface into the night's welcoming blue glow. A very _familiar_ blue glow...

Their ascent was suddenly halted just as they cleared the surface of the river, jolting them both. As they peered through the water streaming clear of Archie's windows the familiar-yet-unsettling figure of Dr. Manhattan resolved itself directly in front of them. He was standing on the undulating surface of the water, unperturbed as always by the laws of physics.

" _Good evening, Nite Owl, Rorschach._ " He walked toward the ship, conveniently passing through its structure to stand behind them. " _I apologize for the... intrusion, but there was a disturbance that. That. Caught my attention._ " His head tilted slightly and he seemed to shake something off, " _Forgive my inattention, Laurie. I am informing Rorschach and Nite Owl seventy seconds from now that their ship is currently surrounded by every tachyon existing on Earth._ " 

For approximately one-third of one second, Rorschach and Nite Owl considered asking what in heaven's name a tachyon was, much less why every one of them on Earth was in the Owlship. Then they each remembered the more urgent matter at hand.

"Jon!-Have-Where's-to-Laurie?-get-What-to-happened?-Antarctica.-Never-Veidt-mind,-behind-we-everything.-have-Time-to-running-get-out.-to-Daniel,-Adrian,-can-he's-fill-behind-in-all-details-of-later,-this.-no-I-time.-don't-Daniel!-know-Never-what-mind,-he's-will-up-fly-to,-us-but-there-he-myself.-killed-Hurmm,-Blake,-nothing-framed-changed-you,-in-framed-controls,-Rorschach,-still-he's-familiar.-doing-Daniel,-something-wasting-in-time-Antarctica-with-now-explanations.-and-Doubt-I-Manhattan's-don't-stability-know-right-how-now-much-and-time-tired- we've-of-got-talking.-left!"

" _I see,_ " nodded Manhattan." _Yes, that makes sense. I will return in three minutes, twenty-two seconds. Multiple realities are converging and making the outcome unclear at the moment, but I will realize the miracle that is human life soon, which may change things._ "

Blue light flashed, and the two were alone once again. The Owlship hovered quietly above the clouds where Rorschach's abortive flight had taken them.

Nite Owl clenched his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose as best he could around the goggles. "What... just happened?"

His partner's fists were clenched at his sides and the spots on the mask were positively hectic. "Got told to wait. _Again._ "

 

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Rorschach had begun pacing once again. Even he could concede the futility in going anywhere, considering anything they did could be rendered moot by Dr. Manhattan's actions. But that didn't mean he had to _like_ it.

_Bulkhead, window-control panel-window, deck, deck, bulkhead._ The view didn't improve no matter how many times it crossed his vision.

"Rorschach?"

_\--window, deck--_ "Hehn?" _\--deck, bulkhead, window..._

"Am I the only one who feels weird about the past several hours?"

_Bulkhead._ "...No."

"We really did see all of that, didn't we?"

His hands, at their customary station in his pockets, clenched briefly. "Yes. And cannot 'unsee'."

He could hear Nite Owl shifting at those words. "Is that what you think of all of it?"

"Of course not. Found person responsible for killings. May have saved millions. Would have been too late otherwise."

"That's...not what I meant."

The view of the deck suddenly became far more interesting than it had been a moment ago. "Was aware of that."

A creak from Nite Owl's costume made Rorschach whirl to face him, fists half-raised from reflex. His partner was only standing up, though; there was still plenty of space between them. As Rorschach watched he briefly rocked forward as though to approach, but settled back again. His head tilted uncertainly, contradicting the imposing image his costume was meant to convey. "Rorschach - How do you feel about me?"

His head dipped at the direct question and patterns moved slowly across his face for several seconds. His voice, when he spoke, was quieter than his wont. "You frustrate me, Daniel. We were partners. You had good potential, but let sense of duty lapse when laws changed. Let yourself go soft." He pretended not to notice the way Nite Owl seemed to deflate at his words. They were only the truth, after all. "But... you came back to the uniform." He took a step toward the taller man. "Came to help me when I was wrongly imprisoned. Feels... right. Being with you again." He considered the man before him, and everything they'd been through. Slowly, he offered his hand. "You are...a good friend."

Nite Owl took it, smiling in something like relief. And then noticed that his partner didn't seem to inclined to let go. 

It suddenly felt _very_ warm in the Owlship.

"So," He swallowed hard as his voice suddenly cracked, "Does that mean there are... _other_ things you don't want to 'unsee'?"

He felt Rorschach's grasp fall away slightly and released him, fearing he'd gone too far. But to his surprise, the hand he'd been clasping simply reached up to remove the battered fedora and set it aside. Then the mask was raised - over the chin, the mouth, the bridge of the nose... and beyond, to reveal normally hard eyes lost in ambivalence and a shock of red hair that was - God help him - _endearingly_ mussed. 

Brow furrowed, Rorschach turned his face slightly off to one side as though he wanted to look away. His eyes, however, held Nite Owl's with perfect steadiness. "Maybe." 

Maybe... maybe... Nite Owl struggled for a moment to remember what question his friend was answering. Oh. _Oh_. His eyebrows rose and he risked a small grin. "'Maybe'? Does that mean you--"

There was a sudden bright blue flash, and they leapt apart as though scalded.

"Couldn't _knock_?" Rorschach furiously straightened the lapels of his coat.

" _My apologies,_ " Dr. Manhattan shrugged slightly. " _I forget that you lack an intrinsic sense of time's passage._ " 

Nite Owl stepped forward. "Where's Adrian?"

" _Dead, I'm afraid. It was necessary._ "

* * *

"D--! You _killed_ him?!"

" _Yes. His intentions were good; I must give him credit for that. But they were ultimately short-sighted, and indicative of a mind as unstable as it was gifted. It was extremely fortunate that you were able to bring my attention to the matter when you did._ "

"W-what did he do?"

Manhattan's head tilted absently in recollection. " _His plan was remarkably well-constructed. He foresaw a nuclear Armageddon in the near future. In reaction to the world's powers approaching a state of mutually assured destruction, he decided to create an outside enemy so horrific that the world would abandon its conflict with itself and unite against the new threat._ "

"Didn't happen to look like a giant squid, did it?"

The Indestructible Man turned to Rorschach in mild surprise. " _How did you know?_ "

"Lucky guess."

" _If not for the burst of tachyon energy here, I would never have detected it. Judging by the equipment he had at his retreat, he was initially using their capacity for static interference to mask his activities from me._ "

Nite Owl looked about uncertainly. "Are they still here?"

" _No. They're dispersing now, back to a more normal state. It's strange... one normally has to expend huge amounts of energy to concentrate them at all. Your ship certainly doesn't have anything designed for that; I wonder what attracted them here?_ "

The two mere mortals glanced at each other, then back to Dr. Manhattan with identical looks of wide-eyed innocence (which on Rorschach looked particularly disconcerting.)

"No idea," Nite Owl shrugged.

" _Ah, well. I can research that at another time._ " He considered a moment, then added, " _You may find it helpful to visit Ozymandias' Antarctic retreat - there will be no one there to hinder you, and the data there is intact. It won't entirely change your fugitive status, but it should-- Oh..." He breathed, tilting his head at something they couldn't see. " _A Thermodynamic Miracle... I understand now._ " He turned to them, actually smiling. "Forgive me, but there's something I need to do before I leave Earth again._"

"Wait, Jon! Where's Laurie?"

" _...She'll be with her mother. I doubt she'll be terribly happy about it, but bringing her here would be impractical now that the two of you have finally realized your attraction to one another._ "

Another blue flash precluded whatever they might have said in response, and they were alone once again.

 

* * *

 

Rorschach worked to blink away the aftereffects of Manhattan's departure, shaking his head. He finally risked a glance over to his partner, who was looking more than a little shell-shocked. Resolutely he tamped down the sense of apprehension that kept trying to take hold. "Feeling all right, Daniel?"

He received a thousand-yard stare in response for a good five seconds, until finally Nite Owl returned to himself. "Yeah..." His eyes focused on Rorschach properly and his voice grew decisive. "Yeah. I'm all right. You?"

He gave an almost careless half-shrug. "Ennk."

Nite Owl grinned, ducking his head to hold back a giddy laugh. The feeling mellowed into something only a bit insane and he looked back up, his grin going lopsided. "You wanna go patrol?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

 

.


	7. Epilogue

"...ow."

"Warned you, Daniel. Out of shape."

"Pft. Yeah. Well, I have to ( _ow_ ) start somewhere."

Nite Owl put a hand to the abused muscles on his left side. The two of them had gone on a four-hour bender of chasing down criminals and were currently resting on an abandoned warehouse rooftop. Dawn would be approaching soon. Every cop in the city was looking for them, they had no homes to return to, and they were only two changes of clothing, some fake IDs and a good hiding place for Archie away from capture.

It had been a _good_ night.

"Guess we're going to Antarctica next. We should see about getting some warmer clothes for you."

"Fine like this."

"Uh-huh. And when you pass out from hypothermia I can just wrap you up in my snowsuit."

"..."

"Don't think I wouldn't do it."

"Fine. Can look for overcoat."

Nite Owl considered that a victory. "It'll take hours for us to get there." He rested his chin on one hand. "At least there'll be something to read." 

He realized with some amusement that he didn't have a phonetic spelling for the sound Rorschach made at that.

He leaned back, letting his mind drift on tangents. "I still can't believe Jon did that. I mean, we all knew he was powerful, but who would have thought he'd just make all the world's nukes go 'poof'?"

"Could just build them again."

"True. But at least it'll be a while before we can get to that point again, and maybe exposing Adrian's scheme will make people think twice about it." 

The two settled into a comfortable silence.

 

"So, Rorschach?"

"Yes?"

"Would I be asking for bodily harm if I put my arm around you?"

"... No."

"Good." A long arm went cautiously around tense shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. After a moment of consideration a gloved hand came up to cover the gauntleted one and the two of them looked out over the skyline.

"Are you sure you're not ticklish?"

"Will _break_ arm, Daniel."

 

"I love you, too."

 

~ End ~

**Author's Note:**

> .
> 
> The origin of the madness:
> 
>  _(Anonymous) wrote:_  
>  Apr. 18th, 2009 11:59 pm (local)  
> You know the Alan Moore Suggestion on Page 17?  
> Well... Daniel and Rorschach get a laptop with internet, (I don't care how, time travel, however you want to do it, if you want to not explain it that's fine too) and they stumble on this MEME, does it lead to sexytimes? I SAY IT DOES!
> 
>  
> 
> -First written in 2010.


End file.
